This invention relates to improvements in railway vehicles and more particularly to improvements associated with brake rigging in railway vehicles.
In a typical railway freight car, an air cylinder is connected by an assortment of levers and rods to brake shoes associated with each of the wheels. In many cases, a connecting rod extends beneath the bolster of the railway truck, and there is nothing to support the bottom rod in the event that it becomes disconnected or broken. In such cases, the truck is required to be equipped with safety guards, which are in the form of a loop connected from the brake beams or other structure under the car.
Various types and styles of safety guards are described in the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,841,600; 2,077,547; 3,703,225; 4,135,608; and 4,195,715. One of the original types is a continuous, rigid steel loop having a pair of U-shaped legs that are driven downwardly onto the brake beam, similar to that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,703,225. Obviously, replacement of such a device can be very cumbersome and time consuming, and the minimum clearance above the track structure often allows the guard to become broken, bent or dislodged by striking objects between the rails and the lack of a serviceable guard creates a dangerous condition. Also, since the space beneath the car is limited, insertion of a replacement and the driving or hammering operations are awkward. Moreover, the bottom rod must be removed and reinstalled after the new guard has been secured in position.
Various improvements have been suggested in the patents mentioned above, such as U-shaped brackets or cables having end terminals that are bolted to the truck structure. In all cases, however, it is necessary to drill holes or secure the necessary brackets, which operations are time consuming and expensive. It would be desirable to provide a safety guard that could be installed on an existing truck, especially as a replacement item, without the need for special tools or disassembly of the brake rigging, and to provide such a guard that is reliable and easy to install.